Lamborghini builds 900HP electric hybrid

Gallery: Lamborghini builds 900HP electric hybrid

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Lamborghini's rolled into the Paris Motor Show with a new concept. It's called the Asterion LPI 910-4. It has all the superlatives you expect from the brand. It delivers over 900 horsepower. It goes from zero to 62 mph in three seconds flat. Top speed is 199 mph.

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This is obviously a departure for Lamborghini. Its last big reveal, the Huracán, was a follow-up to the popular Gallardo, with a revised engine and a refreshed look. It's the volume player in the Lambo stable, its role is to improve on a standard formula. The Aventador is the cost-no-object flagship, a $400,000 (£249, 000) rocket so mean it makes Satan himself look friendly. The Asterion is something altogether new for Sant'Agata Bolognese: a cushy car with a cord. "Things are changing. People are more aware, more sensitive,"

These people don't just have passions, they have sharp minds and they know what is going on in the world."

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Hybrid Power The full name tells you everything you need to know. Asterion is the proper name of the Minotaur, the mythical half-man, half-bull Lamborghini says represents "a powerful fusion between intellect and instinct." (It's worth noting the creature had the body of a man and the head of a bull, lived in a maze he apparently couldn't find his way out of, and considered young Athenian men and maidens a delicacy. That's not the kind of intellect we're into, but Lamborghini may be running low on historic bulls to name their cars after. May we suggest the Ferdinand LP 610-4? How about the Bullwinkle LPI 910?)

LP is for "longitudinale posteriore," meaning the engine is mid-mounted. The I is for "ibrido," or hybrid. The number 910 refers to the horsepower, and the 4 tacked on at the end indicates the Asterion is for the permanently engaged four wheel drive system.

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There's none of the range anxiety that accompanies purely battery-powered cars, and electric motors are a great way to make powerful cars even more juiced up, especially when you factor in their instant torque, which translates to instant acceleration.

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McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche have already made the move, and each of their cars is insanely fast. These cars represent the very leading edge of automotive technology, and Lamborghini simply could not afford not to have one too.

The Asterion's naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 engine, the same one used in the Huracàn, cranks out 610 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. It's got three electric motors: one for each front wheel and another between the engine the and gearbox.

Together they add another 300 horses, bringing the total to 910. In hybrid mode, the engine and three motors work together to drive all four wheels. Lamborghini says the car uses just 4.12 liters of gas to go 100 kilometers. That works out to 57 miles per gallon. The Huracán, by comparison, gets 16. In electric mode, two motors drive the front wheels alone for up to 50 kilometers (30 miles, about what you'd expect from a plug-in hybrid) and can hit 77 mph, on par with BMW's lovely plug-in i8.

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The Asterion is made to deliver huge power along with driver comfort

Lamborghini

Juice comes from a lithium-ion battery that Lamborghini describes only as "powerful." It's mounted between the seats, which helps improve weight distribution and protects the battery in the event of a crash.

The 550 pounds those motors and battery add to the car is offset by the liberal use of carbon fiber, and the car weighs nearly 4,000 pounds. That's about the same as the Porsche 918 Spyder but a chunk more than its plug-in rivals, the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari.

But no matter: When you look at the performance and economy numbers, it's clear the hybrid system is worth its weight.

A Daily Driver The bigger surprise is that Lamborghini wants the car to be used "more for comfortable luxury daily cruising than for ultimate track performance." Even if it seats only two, the Asterion is more grand tourer than sports car. That feels new, since Lamborghini has focused more on performance than comfort in recent years, but it's got touring heritage: Its first production car was the 1964 350 GT. With the return to this space, it could be carving out a new niche, balancing the comfort of the Aston Martin and Bentleys of the world, with the almighty power of the McLarens and Ferraris.

The carbon fiber moncoque is adapted from the Aventador, with the wheelbase stretched to provide more interior room. The seats are positioned higher than in the standard Lamborghini, a more comfortable position. The windshield is more vertical than in other models, and there's actually room for your head. There's (just) enough luggage space to let you drive the car somewhere other than the track. The doors open outward, rather than upward, to "permit easy access." The interior is stuffed with leather, of course, along with aluminum and carbon fiber. Climate control, GPS, and infotainment are controlled via a portable tablet, though where you'd want to take it is a mystery to us.

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The Asterion is a concept, but we fully expect it to see production al più presto possibile. Lamborghini says it's "a technology demonstrator representing a Lamborghini model that could be realistically produced today." Winkelmann says that "to significantly reduce emissions on a car in this moment however, plug-in electrification is the best option for us."

There's no word on pricing, but the other cars in this space are all around a million dollars. Don't expect Lambo to cut you a deal on this one. But you can click through the gallery above and ogle all you want for free.